The Wolf
by Zenappa
Summary: Peggy never thought, in all of her life, that she would be where she is right now. There were so many things wrong with this situation and yet, here she was with her heart still beating for that green-eyed god of mischief. A Carterson one-shot.


**The Wolf**

Peggy never thought, in all of her life, that she would be where she is right now.

There were so many things wrong with this situation. First of all, she should be not at the young age of twenty seven in this time period. She shouldn't have even been in this time period at all. No matter how many times she asked Howard how he managed to send her forward in time, he would never answer. Perhaps that was better, she really didn't want to know anyway. Second of all, according to her actions in the forties, she should be at Steve's side. When Howard first approached her about the experiment, her first thought was a chance to start over, become someone else. But of course, when she had gotten to the 21st century, she had discovered that Steve was still alive and being the same man that he was. They were even engaged for a time when they had found each other.

But all of that had changed when she met him.

Truthfully, she didn't really "meet" him, he found her and used her for his desirable purposes. Steve had filled her in about this new man and the adventures he and his friends - including Howard's son ironically - had gone on bringing this man to his knees. Apparently, however, prison wasn't enough to hold him. For one day, when she was returning home to Steve, he found her on the streets, clamping a hand over her mouth and dragging her into the alleyway.

All she saw was his green eyes before her memory went black.

She remembered little about her time in the servitude of him... well everything except for him in his entire being. She remembered being his Queen, she remembered the rush that she felt when he showed her his magic, she remembered the way that she felt whenever their eyes locked onto each other's, she remembered the bizarre way that he watched out for her like a silent protector, and she definitely remembered the way his lips felt on hers.

When he lifted his curse, the old and new memories merged together into one. She could see the hurt in his eyes as she continually yelled at him, telling him to go to hell but when she was done - noticing that he never said a word back to her - his green eyes were slightly dimmer.

"If you want to leave, go," he said sadly. "I am not going to stop you."

That alone took her aback. For the first time since they had met, he was giving her a choice. And so she reluctantly did the only thing that she knew how to do... run. She took the train and left New York City for a quieter life, one that didn't involve superheroes, gods, and magic.

Days blurred into months as she discovered that her experiences wouldn't fade away. Months turned into years as she discovered that sometimes the feelings that were hatred were actually something else entirely - especially when something beautiful came out of it.

It was several years later when she finally got her act together and returned to the place that had been her home for so long. When she got off the train, the first thing that she did wasn't to visit Howard, Bucky or even Steve... No, she went to the house that they had called theirs for so long. To her utter surprise, he was still there.

"Hello," she whispered, tears springing to the corners of her eyes as she caught sight of the man that had been her captor, lover and so much more.

She had never once seen him in shock before this very moment, not like this, but his silver tongue had rendered him speechless. And that was before she moved out of the way to reveal her daughter standing on the porch behind her legs.

"Is that..." he managed to say and she could only respond with a nod.

She picked her daughter up and gave a small smile. "Meet Stella," she said softly, letting his green eyes rest on his daughter's.

There was no mistaking their relation. He clenched his jaw in obvious anger and glanced away, regret shining all over his face.

"Peggy-"

She set Stella down on the ground who instantly ran into the house behind them.

"I came back for you," she reminded him. "Not Steve, not anyone else, you."

As she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again, all of the old feelings that she weren't sure were her own instantly returned. And in that single moment, she knew that she had made the right decision.

They spent the next twenty years together, never bringing up the past and focusing on the future. They never talked about her age or lifespan because it was evident that she was mortal and he was not. Sooner than he could blink, she would die like most humans do and neither of them wanted to think about that. Ironically, the summer day in the middle of July was not what anyone had expected.

She had gone out for her early morning walk, alone as all three of their children were now grown and out of the house. But when she returned, the sight that lay before her was horrendous.

Asgardian gold was the only thing that could kill him and there he was, lying on the ground with a stab wound in his stomach and the blood pouring out of him. She didn't ask how it happened or who it was, all she knew was that she couldn't live her life anymore without him. She begged him to stay with her, pleaded for everything and anything but he still died in her arms, her name on his lips.

There was a funeral, using with the money that was planned for her own, but her heart wasn't in it. All she wanted was to be with him once more. Her mind went back to the day where it was just the two of them and her screaming at him to go to hell. She wished that she could take it all back, that she could somehow turn back time again, but she knew it was over.

There was no going back.

Two weeks later, Peggy died peacefully in her sleep, some would say of a broken heart. There was a smile playing on her lips as if she couldn't wait for the afterlife where she could see him again. Where she could see that green-eyed god of mischief that captured her heart again.

Where she could see Loki.


End file.
